Senior Spotlight: Leah Hill

The School of Meteorology is extremely proud of its graduates each year, knowing that OU Meteorology alumni go on to do amazing things. For the next few weeks, we’re publishing stories of our students who are excited about upcoming jobs, graduate school placements, or overcoming hardships to reach where they are today. First up is Leah Hill!

Thunder used to send Leah Hill running for the closet to hide, but now the sound is one of her favorites. When Leah was younger, her favorite climbing tree fell down in a wind storm at her home in Chesterfield, MO. For a while after the event, she was terrified of severe weather, especially wind storms.

This all changed when she was in 8^th grade and took an earth science class. During the course, one of the sections focused on weather. While Leah only learned the bare-bone basics, she overcame her fear of severe weather and developed a passion for meteorology. From then on, her dream was to be a meteorologist.

Leah is very grateful for her family, who encouraged her to pursue her dreams, even if it meant being the first to go to college out of state. The University of Oklahoma had always been her dream school, and she says it was an overwhelming experience when she entered the National Weather Center for the first time.

Her passion for meteorology and desire to learn led her to join just about every student organization she could. Leah joined the Oklahoma Weather Lab (OWL) her freshman year where she started to develop her forecasting skills. At the end of her freshman year she was elected vice president of OWL, a position she held for two years.  She is now the Director of Operations for OWL, and co-leads the climate shift on Thursdays.

Leah also served as secretary for the Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association for two years. Additionally, she was active member of the Weather Friends, playing the roles of “Ice Queen” and “Tropical Cyclone,” a representative for the student affairs committee (SAC), and deputy director of the New Student Mentoring Program.

Of all the involvement Leah had, her favorite moments at OU have come from her broadcast experiences. Freshman year Leah joined OU Nightly as a weather briefer, and has anchored weather for last two years. She also has held two internships in Oklahoma City at KOKH, the local FOX affiliate, and KOCO, the local ABC Affiliate. The most memorable moment while broadcasting was her first ever weather brief when she stepped up to the green screen with shaking legs to deliver her forecast. Thankfully, this does not happen anymore. She is thankful with all her experiences with OU Nightly, and the Chief Meteorologists at KOKH and KOCO for teaching her everything she knows about broadcast meteorology.

After graduation, Leah plans to pursue a career in broadcast meteorology. Her long-time goal is to be a meteorologist in Saint Louis and forecast the weather for her family and friends. The interview and hiring process for most broadcast meteorology students has just started, and Leah is actively involved in that process.

We appreciate Leah’s service to the School of Meteorology and look forward to seeing what she accomplishes next!